Affordability politics: refund checks versus cost-of-living criticism

Hochul touts inflation refund checks and tax cuts, but polls show most New Yorkers call the state unaffordable. Update Jul 29 2026: the next round of checks (up to $200, $1B utility-relief program) will arrive September-October, weeks before the Nov 3 election — the second straight fall delivery. Republicans call the timing a gimmick; Hochul says it is direct relief for higher utility bills. Sept. 17 update: at a Howard Beach presser Blakeman held up a jar of peanuts, called the $200 POWER checks "a big election year scam" and "a shell game," claimed 48 rate hikes and a 50% increase under Hochul (campaign figures, unverified here), and pledged to cut energy bills in half; the same day the PSC opened Hochul's Energy Affordability Index proceeding, whose first outputs arrive in 2027. Sept. 18: Blakeman repeated the message in Greece (Rochester area), adding that he would lift the fracking ban by "emergency order" to halve rates; the ban is statutory since 2020, so that mechanism is disputed (see fact check).